Business and Workplace

Why Mediate Workplace Conflicts?

No matter the size of the company or department, from two people to thousands, people must cope with looming layoffs, short-staffed teams, tight deadlines, and bare boned budgets. In addition, events of September 11, 2001 have raised anxiety and concerns regarding safety that did not previously exist.

When jobs require that people cooperate in high-pressure situations, differences in purpose (e.g., marketing versus research and development), style (e.g., thriving on working at the last minute and up to the deadline versus slow and methodical), and role (e.g. word processor versus engineer) trigger communication breakdowns and cause tempers to flair. Minor irritations escalate into full-scale disputes.

If these problems are left to fester, either because the issues are ignored or because an intervention does not resolve the problems, then misunderstandings increase, and resentment grows and spreads. Others in the work environment become distracted and triggered by the conflict. People disengage from their work, productivity drops, and absenteeism and turnover increase.

What Are The Benefits Of Mediating A Workplace Conflict?

Mediation is successful over 90% of the time when key people actively participate.
Mediation saves $5 for every $1 spent on litigation according to the Kiplinger Newsletter (February 23, 2001)
Mediation is faster and less stressful than more traditional means of dispute resolution (such as fighting, giving up, transferring to another job, ignoring the problem, going through grievance procedures, or going to court).
Unlike an adversarial process, mediation helps maintain and build relationships required for people to work together successfully
Anger, resentment, and other emotional components of the conflict are worked through in a safe, supportive, confidential process
The mediation participants are coached to use negotiation skills that they can then use to work through future workplace conflicts.
Participants are more likely to honor the solutions they reach in mediation compared to solutions imposed by their supervisors.

What Does The Connection Partners, Inc. Mediation Process Look Like?

Connection Partners, Inc. mediators serve as impartial professionals who help people with strongly different viewpoints negotiate directly to resolve their disagreements. Our focus in workplace mediation is on people creating the future they want in order to support each other at work.

We provide a confidential mediation process in which people in conflict meet in an informal atmosphere with a mediator or co-mediators to:

Exchange information
Communicate needs
Identify interests
Generate possible options for solution
Evaluate possible options for solution
Reach agreements

The number and length of sessions varies depending on the number and nature of the issues to be discussed.

At the end of mediation, each participant receives a signed copy of a written agreement specifying the decisions made by the participants.

Why Choose Connection Partners, Inc.?

Our Approach: Our mediations are conducted in a neutral, professional meeting space in order to provide a safe location as well as a safe, supportive process to discuss highly-charged issues. We often provide a co-mediator team in order to balance sensitivities and perspectives throughout the mediation. We strive to educate people about the problem solving process so participants in mediation can learn the negotiation skills to work through future conflicts.

Professionalism: We are teachers and practitioners of mediation. In addition to our private cases, we mediate for, and undergo regular training with, City of Boulder Mediation Services and Victim Offender Reconciliation Program of Boulder County. We are current Guidelines members of Colorado Council of Mediators and Mediator Organizations (CCMO), serve on the Board of our local CCMO chapter, and participate in on-going professional supervision.

Call Us For a Free Consultation

If you have a workplace conflict or disagreement that interferes with successful work performance, call us to learn more about how mediation can help resolve the problem. There is no charge for the initial discussion.